Can opener



June 9, 1942.

G. REENSTIERNA 2,285,783

. CAN OPENER Filed May 11, 1940 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

GUSTAF L. REENSTIER NA.

Patented June 9, 1942 UNITED STATES CAN OPENER Gustaf L. Recnstierna,Union City, N. J., assignor of one-half to Remo Aiazzone, Union City,

Application May 11, 1940, Serial No. 334,484

12 Claims.

My invention relates to can openers for piercing and cutting the top ofsheet metal cans and particularly to cylindrical tin cans for domesticuse and has among its purposes and objects to provide:

A can opener which cuts and forms a pouring lip.

A sanitary can opener.

A can opener which cuts the top of a metal can and bends the cut portionto provide an eutwardly extending lip for pouring.

A convenient can opener requiring little manual effort.

A can opener which permits the contents of the can to be completelyemptied without dripping.

A can opener which holds the can while being opened.

A safe can opener which cannot slip and injure the user.

A can opener which partially cuts out a part of the top without bendingthe partly cut portion into the can.

I accomplish these and other objects by the construction hereindescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part herof in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the swing joint.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation along the longitudinal centerline.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the end of the cutting lever.

Fig. 5 is a bottom view.

Fig. 6 i a perspective view showing the application of my device incutting the can.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the application of my device inbending the pouring lip.

Sirnilar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the draw ing and in the specification to follow.

Can openers are so well known to the hcusewife that a statement of theirdisadvantages, danger, and shortcomings need not here be enumerated andthe advantages of my can opener will at once be apparent to anyone whenits construction and operation are understood. My device holds the canby being secured to it. The cutter is secured to a lever so that littleefiort is required to cut the tin top of the can. The lip is not forcedinto the can when it is cut but is bent outwardly to provide a pouringlip and because the lip is bent close to the rim of the can all of thecontents may be emptied from the can and most of the solid food as wellas liquid is easily poured out. Beans, spaghetti, soup and many {fruitsand canned vegetables may be poured out without removing the top end ofthe can. For liquids and pasty or gruel-like contents, the contents maybe poured out without dripping or a part of the contents withheld as isthe case of such material in a can when opened by a can opener whichforces the lip into the can. The dirt on the top of thecan is not mixedwith the contents of the can when it is opened; thus the contents of thecan opened by my device is kept clean and sanitary.

I have herein illustrated and described in detail one of theconstructions embodying the underlying principle of my invention. I donot wish to be confined to these details as they are 3. The lug 2 isprovided with the boss 4 extended from the metal of said lug and tappedto receive the clamp screw 5 which is provided at one end with the winghead 6 and at the other end with the loose clamp plate 7 which receivesthe end of the clamp screw 5 permitting it to freely the opposite end ofthe clamp member I.

'top rim of the can is thus held between the plate revolve therein. Theclamp plate 1 engages the rim 8 of the can 9 and cooperates with thedownwardly depending ears iii and H which are bent downwardly from themetal of the spider H2 at The l and ears l9 and I! by tightening thescrew 5 in the lug 2. The spider is preferably formed integral with theshank 3 and is cut out at I3 within its margin It to permit the travelof the cutter l5.

The spider at its center terminates into the turn table It which'therebyforms the extreme opposite end of the member i from the clamp lug 2. Theturn table is apertured to receive the pin ii on which the swing jointis is swung.

The swing joint is preferably disc shaped and is provided withdiametrically opposed upturned ears i9 and 29 which receive the pin. 2!on which the bearings 22 and 23 of the lever 2 is vertically swinginglymounted. The bearings 22 and 23 may be formed integral with the lever 26and bent around and back upon the top surface of said lever. Thebearings 22 and 23 are spaced apart thereby providing room betweenthemfor the torsional spring 25 around said pin 2! causing the lever 24to be normally held in its lowered position against the detent 26 whichengages the hole or depression 21 in the center of the shank and spiderand which thus holds the lever in its center position when not in use.

The lever 24 is prevented from being raised more than is necessary forits operation by the stops 28 and 29 formed on the ears [9 and 23. Thelever is prevented from swinging horizontally more than is necessary bythe center upturned stop lug 30 which contacts the ears l3 and 20 ateach end of its swing thereby preventing the cutter from striking thecut out marginal edges of the spider.

The cutter I is preferably secured to the under surface of and swung bythe lever 24 and is so shaped and disposed downwardly from the lever.

24 as to pierce the top 3| of the can 9 at or near the edge of the rim 8as to cause the lip cut by it to turn upwardly along its edge 32. Thecutter is beveled so that its cutting edge is on the side toward the pinll around which it moves which causes the edge of the top of the can tobe bent slightly downward or opposite to the upward bend along the edgeof the lip which is caused by the pressure of said edge against the fiatface of the cutter between its cutting edges. This pressure is caused bythe difference between the are on which the cutter travels and the flatsurface of the cutter.

The cutter is disposed also on an incline rather than perpendicular tothe under surface of the lever 24 thereby providing an upward pressureto raise the marginal edge 32 of the lip 33 as may be seen in Fig. 3 ofthe drawing.

At the end of the lever opposite the bearings 22 and 23, I have provideda tongue 34 which preferably lies on a plane parallel to the uppersurface 35 of the lever 24 and spaced sufficiently above it to receivethe lip which is forced between the surface 35 and the lower surface 36of the tongue 35 which is preferably provided with a beveled end 37 tofacilitate engaging the edge of the lip. The raising of the lever 34 asmay be seen in Fig. '7 causes the lip to bend to the desired positionfor pouring; the pressure required to bend the lip as well as the curvedrim of the can cause the lip to be disked thereby assisting the flow ofthe contents of the can on its surface which was on the inside of thecan before the lip was bent.

To guide the clamp plate I and to prevent it from turning, I haveprovided the T head 38, the neck 39 of which travels in the slot 40 inthe shank 3 of the member I.

The slope or angle of the cutter, its width and the radius on which itswings may be varied to suit the conditions and size of cans which it isdesired to open. The size and shape of the parts may be also made tosuit the operating conditions.

Having thus described and illustrated one of the embodiments of myinvention, what I claim is new and wish to secure by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member to swing on a center outside theperiphery of the top of the can to cut a lip in the top of a can.

2. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member to swing on a center outside theperiphery of the top of the can to cut a lip in the top of a can andmeans positioned above said center hinging and permitting said lever tobe raised upwardly.

3. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member to swing on a center outside theperiphery of the top of the can, said cutter having a beveled edge, thecutting edge of which is disposed on the face away from the center ofthe top of the can and toward the center on which said lever swings.

4. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member to swing on a center outside theperiphery of the top of the can, said cutter having a beveled edge, thecutting edge of which is disposed on the face toward the center on whichsaid lever swings, said cutter having a surface, a part of which is atless radial distance than said cutting edge thereby turning the edge ofthe lip upwardly.

5. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member, said cutter having a beveled edge,the cutting edge of which is disposed on the face toward the center onwhich said lever swings to bend the edge of the cut in the can top at aradius on which the lever swings downwardly.

6. In a can opener, a clamp member and means thereon detachably securingsaid member to a can and a lever and cutter secured thereto, said leverswingingly mounted to said member, said cutter having a beveled edge,the cutting edge of which is disposed on the face toward the center onwhich said lever swings, said cutter having a surface, a part of whichis at less radial distance than said cutting edge to bend the edge ofsaid lip upwardly at a radius on which said lever swings.

7. In a can opener, a member having a depending lug and clamp screwtherein at one end of said member and downward disposed ears near theopposite end to engage and detachably secure said member to the top of acan and means having a cutter thereon swingingly mounted in said memberto cut an arc in the top of the can and a lip formed by said are andmeans turning the edge of said arc upwardly when cut.

8. In a can opener, a member having a depending lug and clamp screwtherein at one end of 'said member and downward disposed ears near theopposite end to engage and detachably secure said member to the top of acan and means having a cutter thereon swingingly mounted in said memberto cut an arc in the top of the can and a lip formed by said are andmeans turning the edge of said arc downwardly in the cut out portion ofthe can top and the edge upwardly of the lip.

9. In a can opener, a member having a clamp screw at one end of saidmember and downward disposed ears near the opposite end to engage anddetachably secure said member to the top of a can, a swing'jointswingingly mounted on said member and positioned outside the peripheryof the can to move on a horizontal plane and a lever and cutter securedthereto said lever swingingly mounted in said swing joint to movevertically to engage the can top and to cut an are having its ends nearthe periphery of the can.

10. In a can opener, a member and means engaging and detachably securingsaid member to the top of a can and a lever having a cutting edgemovable vertically and horizontally in relation to said member, saidlever having its center of movement outside the periphery of the top ofsaid can.

11. In a can opener, a member having a depending lug and clamp screwtherein at one end of said member and downward disposed ears near theopposite end to engage and detachably secure GUSTAF L. REENSTIERNA.

